Who is Nitin Kumar, the Darts Player Who Made Ally Pally History?

Nitin Kumar has become a darts sensation after he historically won a match at the World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace.

He defeated Richard Veenstra in a gripping five-set contest, becoming the first Indian to win a match at the tournament.

Kumar survived five ton-plus checkouts and advanced thanks to clinical finishing, landing nine of 12 darts at doubles.

The victory sent him into round two and set up a clash against world number four Stephen Bunting.

Born in Chennai on November 14, 1985, Kumar began playing at the age of 10.

Darts remained largely a hobby, despite him representing India at the 2011 WDF World Cup.

He also featured for India at the PDC World Cup of Darts in 2014 and 2015.

Nicknamed ‘The Bengal Tiger’, Kumar first qualified for the World Championship in 2019, losing 3-0 to Jeffrey de Zwaan.

Further first-round exits followed at Ally Pally against Brendan Dolan in 2020 and Ricky Evans in 2022.
In 2024, he finally won a set at the tournament but lost 3-1 to Martin Lukeman.

Based in Dubai, Nitin Kumar credits the Luke Littler boom for raising standards locally.

He said: “I play a lot of local tournaments back in Dubai, where I work, and my averages there are great, but no one sees that.

“Three or four days a week, you’re playing darts.

“You’re supposed to go there, work and save money – you can’t. You’re just playing darts all the time. Match practice has affected me, but it’s different on the World Championship stage.

“It’s different at Ally Pally.”

Kumar’s walk-on song is Panjabi MC’s ‘Mundian To Bach Ke’. He said his Ally Pally victory fulfilled a lifelong ambition and could inspire Indians to take up the sport.

He said: “I have been playing darts for close to 30 years.

“The dream was always to be a world champion.

“To give it my all, something I have never done at this level before and in front of that kind of crowd before, it was wonderful.

“Hopefully, this will open the floodgates to a billion players from India.

“In 10 years’ time, if you have eight people in the World Championship walking on to Bollywood music or Punjabi, don’t blame me. It’s happening!”

Prior to their match on December 20, 2025, Kumar and Bunting previously met at the Bahrain Darts Masters in January 2025, where Bunting won 6-2.

Praising Kumar’s impact on the sport, Bunting said:

“Nitin is a fantastic player. What he’s done for Indian darts is exceptional.”

“I’ve known him for quite a few years now, and we played each other in Bahrain. Luckily, I was able to win that game.

“But the World Championship is so different. I’m really looking forward to playing. He had the crowd on his side in the first round. I’m sure that when we play, the crowd will all be going Bunting Mental.”

Bunting defeated Kumar in straight sets to reach round three.

Despite the loss, Nitin Kumar’s historic first-round win at Ally Pally could be the driving factor for more people in India to take up darts.

Watch Nitin Kumar’s Walk-On